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Updated on
May 08, 2008,
J.P.
asks from San Jose, CA
on
April 19, 2008

Eye Twiching

My 3 year old daughter has had a twitching right eye on and off for about a year. I thought it might be an allergy, because that same eye can water, however that is less frequent than the twitch. We have always limited dairy, wheat and sugar. The twitch is worse when she's trying to express something, is frustrated, or talking to a non family member. It's so obvious that people have asked me about it. I try not to give it attention incase it is just a bad habit. Of course I can and will take her to the Ped., I was just curious if anyone has experienced this. In November 07 she had a positive vision test. Appreciate the input or advice.
Thanks

More Answers

P.W.
answers from San Francisco
on
April 23, 2008

I occasionally get eye twitches for a few days or weeks when I'm very stressed. She's very young though and it seems that such a young child shouldn't get stress-related conditions. But you say she's complicated and emotional so...

I don't believe a twitch is usually associated with foodallergies or other types of allergies. This seems to me to be an emotional/frustration issue. I strongly suggest getting some help from a child psychologist. Don't wait. Good luck!

My 5 year old started having facial twitches about 1 1/2 years ago. Her started in her mouth and worked up to her eyes. Of course I was terrified when this began. I took her to her pediatrician and he said it was a tic. He then sent us on to a pediatric neurologist who did an EEG to check for other issues (such as stroke) and when that was clear he said it was a transient tic. He said it is somewhat common and usually goes away by the time the child enters puberty. My daughter's lasted for a couple months and then stopped. I have noticed that if she gets frightened or gets in trouble she will make slight twitches or grimaces. The doctor told us it is anxiety based and that even though a child does not have reason to be stressed they can have "irrational anxiety" meaning no physical cause. He said it was more chemical then physical. The good news for me was that the neurologist said 98% of the time it goes away. It is worth having it checked though.

I have a son who just turned four and has had a twitch in his right eye for about 8-9 months. One day he started rubbing his eye and it was watery, I thought he may have had something in it. I started to notice when he would talk his eye would twitch. My son started to stutter shortly after the twitching started. When he stutters he usually stretches one word out while his eye is twitching. In the beginning it was almost every word, now it seems to have slow down. I mentioned it to my eye doctor and she said it could be a nervous twitch but he should see his peditrician. I don't worry to much about it, I hope he grows out of it. My older son suttered at the age of three and grew out of it. I will have him checked out in a few months, he is do for a check up.I am sorry I don't have any advice for you. I just wanted to let you know I am going through the same thing with my child. Good luck and let me know how things turn out and I will do the same.

The muscle tic, especially of the eyes (too frequenting blinking and profound blinking can also be lumped into this category) can be a sign of an anxiety issue. Many adults with anxiety disorders experience such tics of the muscles of the face, neck, and shoulders - because she is young, it is likely NOT a full blown disorder, but just a signal that she is feeling anxious - don't mention it to her, she has no idea she is doing it and has no control over it: if it is brought to her attention, she is likely to become even more anxious, and the tic may become more severe.
Talk to your ped about it, but see if you can start to notice a pattern of what and when may trigger her tic, and see if you cannot try to lower her anxiety level in those situations.

I personally have had issues with the eye twitch. The times it has happened in my life have been very stressful times usually also with not enough sleep. I would suggest looking at her life and seeing why she may be experiencing extra stress lately and look at simplifying it and giving her tools to relax. Is she over scheduled? Goodluck.